


never to part, lest jealous heaven stole our hearts

by dancingassassin



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst, Angst with a Hopeful Ending, Blood Drinking, Blood and Injury, Cameos, Character Death, Inspired By Hellsing, M/M, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Supernatural Elements, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 14:44:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12584156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancingassassin/pseuds/dancingassassin
Summary: heavily inspired by Hellsing Ultimate. I watched a certain part and then immediately started writing this. Thank you to RottenAdel, EmbryonicHarmonic, and iridomaniac for letting me use their characters Nel, Babylon, and Ally.title taken from the Cradle of Filth song 'Her Ghost in the Fog'--Hanzo Shimada is a vampire and is nervous to find himself accepting a job with an organization known to hunt vampire - Blackwatch. They want to fight fire with fire, or in this case, vampire with vampire, and are offering up information about Hanzo's missing younger brother, Genji. He accepts the offer and is told he will be working with Jesse McCree, an agent who dresses like a literal cowboy and is somehow not afraid of Hanzo or what he is. He must integrate with Jesse's team and prepare for the predicted attack all while trying to figure out Jesse McCree.





	never to part, lest jealous heaven stole our hearts

Of all things Hanzo Shimada thought might happen in his life, he had never considered Blackwatch contacting him. Yes, he knew that the threat the supernatural posed to the rest of the world had increased tenfold in the past few years. But why would they contact a _vampire_ to help them? In the eyes of most, he was part of the problem. Hanzo supposed that Blackwatch was known for their more questionable actions. It was Overwatch that tended to stick to the straight and narrow, mainly because of higher-ups breathing down their necks. At least that’s what he’d heard about them.

Hanzo tended to avoid organizations like Blackwatch and Overwatch. It wasn’t particularly safe for him to deal with them, after all. He valued his continued existence and they tended to not value the continued existence of potential supernatural threats. Yet he found himself sitting in a room with several Blackwatch agents who were very intent on recruiting him for an upcoming battle. They needed extra help defending one of their bases from an attack that had been predicted by a reliable seer. Honestly, Hanzo had wanted to turn them down anyway, but they had promised him information on his younger brother’s whereabouts if he helped them with this fight, so he was reluctantly complying with their request.

He leaned back in his chair and took in the appearance of the agents in the room. There were three that were obviously in charge – two of them in blue coats that Hanzo knew were reserved for Overwatch members. The third was in black with some weird goat skull emblem emblazoned on the sleeve of his hoodie. _Who the hell has a hoodie as part of their tactical gear? That’s just ridiculous._ Despite being – in his mind – a rather powerful vampire, Hanzo really didn’t want to mess with them. Something in him screamed that it would end in tears. His tears, specifically. It wasn’t a reaction he often experienced. He definitely didn’t want to experience that feeling anymore.

There was only one other agent in the room with them, who despite giving the air that he was a subordinate still felt as though he shouldn’t be messed with. Though Hanzo thought he was a bit on the odd side. He didn’t appear to be that old, maybe somewhere in his mid-20s. But it was his clothing that made Hanzo want to roll his eyes. This agent was basically dressed as a cowboy. He wasn’t entirely sure how this man had managed to work cowboy attire into tactical gear, but he had. _Even more ridiculous than the one with a hoodie._

“Alright. Best get this shit show started. I’m Gabriel Reyes and that ugly fucker is Jack Morrison and this lovely lady is Ana Amari.” The one in the hoodie said as his face twisted into a scowl. “So Shimada, you’ll be working directly with Agent McCree and his squad. The group of you will be making your merry way to our Colorado headquarters and holding the base down from whatever they throw at you.”

It sounded easy enough on paper. Hanzo knew it wasn’t going to be as easy as it sounded, but things rarely were easy. That was just his lot in life. “And why do you need my assistance? The mission sounds simple enough.” Perhaps he was just goading Reyes into giving him more information.

“Firepower.” Morrison responded – his voice was rougher than Hanzo would have anticipated. It almost sounded like he’d spent every morning of the last decade gargling gravel. “Talon is not to be trifled with and we can guarantee that they aren’t going to play fair. You will even the playing field.”

Hanzo narrowed his eyes. He’d heard about Talon before, he knew what kind of methods they used. And while he didn’t know their goals, he knew that they would do _anything_ to achieve their goals. He also knew that there were multiple powerful vampires in the ranks. _I’m unsure as to how I’m going to level the playing field all by myself but whatever._

“They will be using vampires, so we will as well.” Amari’s voice was crisp and smooth.

Hanzo had to admit it was a fair strategy, but one vampire did not equate to _multiple_ vampires. At least not easily. He wasn’t sure how much power he was willing to expend, especially since it was likely he wouldn’t be able to _feed_ while he was with a bunch of mortal Blackwatch agents. He wouldn’t be able to take blood from them and he figured that he’d lose any semblance of trust if he fed in front of them. That was a problem for future Hanzo.

“And upon completion I will receive the information?” Hanzo narrowed his eyes slightly and watched the three in charge shy back a good foot or so. He noted that the cowboy – _Agent McCree_ – didn’t budge. _Interesting. He doesn’t seem to be afraid of me_.

“Of course, that was our deal.” Reyes snorted. “I’m a man of my word, Shimada. You and McCree are leaving in two hours to rendezvous with the rest of his squad.”

Hanzo wanted to argue that he needed more time to prepare than that, but the truth was that he was already ready to go. He just wanted a bit of time to get his head sorted out and prepare to spend far too much time with an actual, literal cowboy. And he wanted to try and feed…

“Get out of my sight. I don’t want to see either of you until this shit storm’s blown over.” Reyes motioned for the two of them to leave the room.

Hanzo didn’t really like that he was being ordered around like one of Reyes’ soldiers, but he supposed for the time being he was. He got to his feet and straightened up before heading for the door. He heard the jangling of spurs following him and barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes. _You’ve got to be kidding me. He’s wearing spurs. What the hell have I gotten myself into?_

“Hey now, wait up there, Shimada!”

It was tempting to phase through a wall just because he could. “Yes, Agent McCree?” Hanzo glanced over his shoulder and let a little bit of his vampiric aura seep out. It was an experiment; he wanted to see how the man reacted.

Again, no reaction. _Either this man has no fear or is very stupid._

“If we’re workin’ together, we should at least get to know each other a bit, don’tcha think?” McCree fell in step next to Hanzo and grinned at him. There was something in his eyes that made Hanzo feel like he was being sized up, he like he was prey.

_I’m not sure I appreciate the look he’s giving me…_

“Why aren’t you afraid of me?” Hanzo didn’t mean to be so blunt, the words just slipped out. “You are aware of what I am. Why aren’t you afraid?”

McCree looked surprised for a moment, then thoughtful, but that almost predatory look hadn’t faded from his face. “Well, you’re just the prettiest damn thing I’ve seen in ages.” But he paused and seemed to continue thinking. “And you ain’t given me a reason to be scared of you, Shimada.”

_I really don’t know what to make of this man…_

 

* * *

 

 

Hanzo found that McCree was far too talkative for his tastes. Though that wasn’t particularly difficult to accomplish. He wasn’t a very chatty person to start with and small talk made him practically squirm in discomfort. Talking about himself to someone he’d just met was the stuff of nightmares.

Yet McCree _insisted_ on the chatter. But Hanzo noted that despite his propensity for talking, McCree pointedly avoided certain topics that were touchy subjects for vampires and other supernatural creatures. And he was grateful for that – Hanzo really didn’t want to answer the question ‘ _how did you get this way?’_ It was uncomfortable at best and traumatic for all parties at worst. And as much as he had the gut instinct to push this man away, he didn’t actually want to give him a reason to be frightened of him. It wasn’t often that he wound up meeting someone who wasn’t instantly afraid of what he was…maybe he didn’t want to spoil it. That…and it would be difficult to work together if he wound up alienating McCree like that. If they didn’t work together efficiently, Hanzo might not wind up getting the information about Genji’s whereabouts.

He wouldn’t forgive himself if he messed that up.

“Hey Shimada, you doin’ okay? You’ve been mighty quiet.” McCree’s eyes flicked over from the road for a second before bringing his attention back to driving. “Not that you’re not quiet to start with. But uh…quieter?”

Hanzo jolted a little and sighed. “I am fine. I was just thinking.” He paused and adjusted the sunglasses on his face. It was just bright enough outside that it hurt his eyes. “Thank you for asking.”

McCree chuckled. “Not a problem, sugar. You sure seem to do a lot of thinkin’.” Hanzo made a face at the pet name – he was not sweet or sugary. He understood the implication in McCree’s words – he was quiet a lot. “I just wanted to check in on you before we met up with the others. They can be a bit rowdy.”

_Lovely. A rowdy bunch of Blackwatch agents when all I want to do is have some quiet before the fight starts._ It wasn’t ideal, but he supposed he didn’t really have a choice in the matter. Hanzo would deal with it, he just might not be _happy_ while he dealt with it. He wasn’t big on groups of people, he didn’t like people staring at him and they inevitably always did.

“I am sure I will be fine. Please do not call me sugar.” Hanzo fidgeted and tugged at the folds in the fabric of his trousers. “Why don’t you tell me about your squad?” Perhaps that would help him be a little more at ease when he was meeting a big group of people that he was supposed to collaborate with.

McCree seemed to brighten at being asked to talk (even though Hanzo had just shot down the pet name) and Hanzo was left wondering if he liked the sound of his own voice or if he was just pleased that Hanzo was finally talking a bit more. Hard to say. “Well, my squad is pretty varied, ya know? We’ve gotta be ready for just about anything. There’s twelve more people we’re meetin’ up with and they’re all real skilled agents.”

Of course, Hanzo wasn’t entirely sure what ‘skilled’ meant to an organization like Blackwatch. He could assume that McCree was fairly skilled if only because the mission was being entrusted to him. There’s no way that the protection of a base would be entrusted to someone who was actually a bumbling idiot. That meant that despite McCree’s unconventional appearance ( _really, who the hell dresses like an actual, literal cowboy??_ ), he was actually quite skilled. That he was someone who wasn’t to be trifled with.

“I’d tell ya more about them, but uh…we’re kinda pullin’ up to the base now.” McCree almost sounded sheepish at that fact. “So you’re gonna meet them in a minute anyway.”

_Wonderful. I don’t even get time to mentally prepare._ Honestly, it was probably for the better that Hanzo wasn’t going to be given time to get all in his head. He’d be a bit more anxious, but at least he wouldn’t be all closed off. Hopefully. “Then I look forward to meeting them.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t truth either.

The base they were pulling up to was modest in appearance – two stories tall and about the size of an office building. It didn’t look like anything special. Hanzo could see the Overwatch emblem shining on the side of the building and he furrowed his brow in confusion. He had been under the impression they were guarding one of Blackwatch’s facilities. He shook away the confusion and started getting out of the vehicle – if it was important, he was sure that _someone_ would explain to him the reasoning there. If it wasn’t important, he didn’t care.

He shouldered his bag of gear and followed McCree into the building. The interior wasn’t remarkable in any way, if anything it looked much like the exterior: exactly like an office building. _I don’t understand why this place is so important…_

Hanzo was led to an elevator, which Jesse punched in a code, then another series of buttons, before finally hitting a button that was simply titled ‘go.’ With a lurch, the elevator started going down – far more than one floor. Realization dawned on Hanzo quickly – this was a primarily underground base with an office building serving as a façade. A good defense. The doors whined as they opened and Hanzo was greeted with an open room that seemed to serve as a lobby. There were twelve people scattered throughout it, all of them chatting amiably amongst each other. They fell silent when they realized the elevator had opened.

“Welcome back, Jesse.” One of them, a blonde woman who couldn’t be more than twenty-five, said as she started walking closer. As she got closer, Hanzo was able to see that her eyes were large and pale blue. She abruptly stopped as her eyes settled on Hanzo. “…and he seems to have brought back up with him.”

Hanzo shifted uncomfortably under the stares of twelve people – it felt like he was being dissected. And in a way, he supposed he _was_ being dissected. They were trying to figure out just what he was, trying to figure out if they could trust their instincts. That Jesse had brought a _vampire_ to help them. He could smell fear in the air, which he supposed wasn’t all that surprising. But perhaps it was a little…disheartening. He should be used to people being afraid of what he was, but something always stabbed into his heart when it happened. It _hurt_.

“Yup! Hanzo Shimada is our backup for the upcoming raid.” McCree rested his hands against his hips and surveyed his team. “He’ll be training with us for the next two weeks so he can properly integrate.”

Silence fell. It was stifling and uncomfortable and it made Hanzo want to shift to a different form and _get away_. But he stayed still. Running away would do no good…

After a few more moments of silence, one of the agents finally spoke up. He had long vividly red hair that was tied back in a ponytail and wore black, square-framed glasses. “Jesse…isn’t he a – ”

“Come on, Jinto, it’s rude to point something like that out!” McCree snorted and rolled his eyes. “But yes, Shimada’s a vampire. Got a problem with that?”

There was a tone in McCree’s voice that sent a chill down Hanzo’s spine. While he had phrased his words as a question, Hanzo could clearly hear that it was a threat. If anyone had a problem, they had to answer to him, that they had to _cross_ him. And it was clear that none of them were willing to do that.

It was another few moments before McCree spoke again. “Alright. So lemme get you introduced to the crew.”

Hanzo found himself being walked closer to the twelve other agents – close enough that he could see them in detail. They all looked so _normal_. Hanzo took them all in – the first to speak was named Quentin Marks. Apparently she was a telekinetic of some sort. To Hanzo, she almost looked weak, but he knew that looks were deceiving at the best of times. There were two women near her that were introduced as Nel McClain and Ally Svent. Both were taller than Hanzo by a few inches and just looked _strong_. But there was something about both of them that had Hanzo thinking they weren’t strictly human. He also had the distinct feeling that the three of them were involved with each other. Romantically. _Is it really a good idea to allow romantic relationships within a squad…?_

“Welcome to the squad, Shimada.” Quentin was smiling and seemed so genuine. “Looking forward to working with you.”

“Haven’t worked with a vampire yet, could be fun.” Ally smirked and even winked at him before hooking an arm around both Quentin and Nel. “C’mon ladies, let’s get some snacks before Jesse eats everything in the mess hall.”

Nel snickered and shook her head. “He can’t eat if he’s helping Shimada around. We’re safe from the garbage disposal.”

“Hey, c’mon now! I’m not a garbage disposal!” McCree’s voice cracked and he visibly pouted.

The three wandered away while laughing and Hanzo was dragged over to another group of people. Rather, two groups of people that were clumped close together. The first group had two people – a woman who was rail thin and had blinding pink hair and a man who was tall and gangly with…grey…? hair. It almost seemed like there were horns curling around part of his head. When the man turned to look at Hanzo, he noted that his eyes were merely glass orbs rather than, well, eyes. _How odd…_ He could also feel a distinctly non-human aura radiating off of him, though he couldn’t determine what kind of aura it was.

“This here is Aria Brayton and this is Babylon.” McCree hummed as he motioned to the two. “Babylon is one of our occult specialists, while Aria is a technological one.”

“Hey.” Aria waved and crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t know if I count as a technological specialist when all that’s special about me is an AI implant.”

“Totally counts.” McCree snorted back a laugh. “Right Babs?”

“Only Aria can call me Babs.” Babylon almost seemed to roll his glass eyes. “But it counts. Well, vampire, hope you can keep up.” Despite the words, there was an almost playful tone there. He wagged his fingers and started off in the other direction.

Hanzo glanced at McCree in confusion – he didn’t know sort of supernatural being Babylon was…and knowing would help him work with the team, right?

“He’s a devil.” McCree said as though that explained everything. “Uh…kinda like a demon. But…different. He’s really insistent on the different part.” He shrugged and nudged Hanzo along the line of people. “Here we’ve got Jinto, Keiran, and Light.”

The three were all of a similar height, though their builds were all different. Keiran looked like someone who belonged in Blackwatch, both in build and expression. It looked like he’d swallowed vinegar. It was a shame because Hanzo thought he could be quite handsome otherwise what with his dark hair, eyes, and skin. Light also seemed to have a scowl perpetually etched onto his face – and while Light wasn’t his type, he could admit that he was pretty with his coppery hair, brown eyes, and pale skin. They didn’t stick around – merely said their hellos and goodbyes before trotting off to do something more important than greeting someone new.

“Don’t mind them. They’re salty because their last mission went _real_ sour.” McCree rolled his eyes and led Hanzo over to the last four. Both of them seemed far too man pretty to be in an organization like Blackwatch, but that was all Hanzo got from them as they were gone within seconds. The last two just seemed too _young_ to be involved in this kind of work. They were all dissipating quite quickly and it was fairly easy to see the disappointment on McCree’s face. “…well…that’s Cheshire, Basilisk, Rena, and Jack. Guess they’re busy. Whatever.”

There were too many people to remember, but Hanzo needed to integrate with the squad. That was all that circulated through his mind as he was led to a small room that was going to be his for the duration of his stay. He mumbled a thank you and sank into his bed without another word to McCree. He was too tired to do anything else. People drained him…they always had.

It was only temporary.

For now…sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

Training was going well enough, Hanzo supposed. He was pleasantly surprised to see how skilled everyone was and was even more surprised when he found he was slotting into their formations without issue. He didn’t really feel like he was intruding, which was odd for him. Every once and awhile he saw one tense when he moved too quietly or appeared too suddenly – but that was the extent of their negativity toward him. McCree was vouching for him and apparently that meant a lot.

Hanzo would have to thank him for that at some point.

For now, he was taking a break in the shade of a tree. Being out during the daytime hours was difficult on him, but he could manage it every once and awhile. So long as he kept most of his skin covered and wore sunglasses. It was nice to be able to observe the others as they practiced – it let Hanzo learn more about how they interacted as a group, even while he was resting he was still technically practicing. Every once and awhile one of them would come over and check on him –usually Quentin and sometimes Jinto. It was nice of them, if unnecessary. But most of them seemed to realize that if he was isolating himself, he wanted a bit of quiet.

Hanzo closed his eyes behind his sunglasses and leaned against the rough bark of the tree. _I’ll just rest my eyes for a few moments…_ He drifted off to sleep without any issue while cozy under the tree. It wasn’t often that Hanzo found himself in a situation where he was comfortable enough to fall asleep _outside._

“Sleepin’ on the job, Shimada?”

He jolted back to the world of the living at the sound of the amused voice. Hanzo opened his eyes blearily and found McCree standing over him with a grin on his face. _At least he doesn’t seem upset that I was sleeping…?_

“Merely resting my eyes.” Hanzo straightened up to a more respectable posture. He was thankful for the sunglasses because they allowed him to get a better look at McCree without fear of being caught staring.

While Hanzo had initially found McCree’s attire ridiculous, it just seemed to suit him now. He could hardly imagine him without the cowboy hat or the gaudy belt buckles.

“Hey now, don’t get all tense just because I’m over here. You can keep relaxin’.” To prove a point, McCree flumped down onto the ground next to Hanzo. His grin was still intact. “Figured I’d check in on you, make sure you’re doin’ okay with the group and such.”

Hanzo supposed that the sentiment was kind, though he didn’t really get why McCree was bothering to check in on the vampire who was working with the group. There wasn’t any real reason to care about someone like Hanzo. For all intents and purposes, he was considered disposable to an organization like Blackwatch. Sure, they might utilize his abilities – but they wouldn’t shed any tears if another vampire fell in the process of trying to help them. At least that’s what had been drilled into his head over the years.

“I am doing fine, McCree.” Hanzo kept his voice even and adjusted his sunglasses slightly. “Thank you for checking in on me.”

Hanzo thought that would be the end of the interaction – that McCree would leave after fulfilling his duty. But McCree merely hummed and leaned back on his elbows and got comfortable. Like he was going to be hanging around for more than just a few minutes. Hanzo shook away his surprise and forced himself to look back at the agents who were practicing. At this point, it looked more like they were goofing off.

“Lively bunch.” McCree chuckled under his breath. “They aren’t givin’ you any shit, are they?” He paused and seemed to be considering his next words fairly carefully. “They aren’t so used to workin’ with vampires, even if half of them are supernatural.” The last part was accompanied by an exaggerated eye roll.

Again, Hanzo assumed that this was McCree fulfilling some sort of obligation. It would seem unprofessional if he didn’t check in. Even if it was only obligation, Hanzo considered everything carefully. He couldn’t think of any instances of people ‘giving him shit’, as McCree put it. Perhaps they were a bit leery around him, but that was a natural reaction to something that could kill them, right?

“No, I do not believe they’ve been giving me trouble.” Hanzo shrugged and rested his head back against the trunk of the tree. “They’re being far more accepting than most people would be.”

McCree snorted. “Oh c’mon now, I’ve been watching them. They’ve been avoidin’ you like the plague.” He shook his head and made a soft, frustrated noise. “They have a fuckin’ devil on the team, two telekinetics, two powerful magic users, a dragonborn, several people with AI units, and a vampire is what they draw the line at. They’re bein’ fucking ridiculous. They know that judging by what someone happens to be is wrong.”

Hanzo was taken aback by the vehemence in McCree’s voice. Blackwatch was an agency that removed supernatural threats. Most people considered vampires to be supernatural threats because of their need to feed solely off of blood. Granted, people didn’t take into consideration that there were willing donors, that taking blood didn’t inherently mean death, and to change someone took more than a single bite. It took intention as well. But to hear someone who worked with Blackwatch so emphatically stating his belief that species didn’t imply evilness was…odd. Nice, but odd.

“But they do not know me.” Hanzo tilted his sunglasses down so McCree could see the red irises that were hidden behind the lenses. That would be enough reason for people to avoid getting close to him – but McCree barely reacted at all. “I can’t blame them for being distant, McCree.”

Silence fell between the two of them – it wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but it wasn’t an easy silence either. Hanzo fidgeted with the sleeves of his shirt and dragged his eyes back over to the field where the others were still practicing. He let himself get lost in the thoughts of small corrections for formations and techniques – it was better than focusing on the fact that said people were likely frightened of him. McCree’s squad was quite skilled, but Hanzo felt they needed a tiny bit of polishing to really be excellent.

“Hey. Just call me Jesse, okay?”

That simple sentence completely derailed Hanzo’s train of thought. _It would be completely unprofessional to call him Jesse rather than by his surname…_ “…are you certain? You are technically my superior officer in this mission.” Even if most of Hanzo’s directions were independent of everyone else.

“Eh. Don’t care. Everyone calls me Jesse. Feels weird to be called McCree.” He shrugged and flopped all the way down onto the ground with his arms behind his head. “Might help the squad warm up to you too. You’re real formal. Intimidates them even if they’ll never admit it.”

_That doesn’t make any sense whatsoever._

“You can call me Hanzo then.” It felt like a fair exchange. He had noticed that they seemed to relay on first names rather than surnames – he stuck out like a sore thumb if he was being called Shimada.

“Hanzo, then.”

Again, silence fell between the two of them. It was more on the companionable side of things this time. Two people enjoying a nice afternoon outdoors who just happened to be sitting next to each other. _This is actually pretty nice…_

“Jesse, I know he’s pretty, but could ya, I don’t know, maybe do what you’re supposed to be doing?” Someone called from the field. Hanzo forced his eyes to focus – it was Jack. His prosthetic arm glinted in the sunlight, the shine was nearly enough to temporarily blind Hanzo. “Stop flirting and get to work!”

_Wait, he’s flirting with me??_ Hanzo was, once again, thankful that the sunglasses masked his eyes because they were currently wide and surprised. _…did Jack just call me pretty?_ It was hard to process both parts and Hanzo found himself staying quiet because he didn’t know how he was supposed to respond to something like that. He glanced back at Jesse – the man had gone red in the cheeks and his face was twisted in a strange combination of a pout and laughter. _Maybe his squad is just teasing him…?_

“Aw c’mon, you’re just jealous that he likes me more than you!” Jesse shouted back at Jack, laughter in his voice. He scooted a little closer to Hanzo.

He could feel the warmth of his body, smell the blood that was pulsing through his veins, and the instinct to taste surged to the front of his mind only for Hanzo to quash it down. Now was not the time for that kind of thought. It would only frighten his temporary teammates even more if he fed from their leader.

“Give me a break.” Another voice rang out, Cheshire this time. Even from where Hanzo was he could see the man tossing his dark green hair over his shoulder. “He likes you because he has to. So its less liking and more tolerating your existence.”

Hanzo bit back a laugh at that and pressed a hand to his mouth to stifle any sounds that tried to escape. It was a nice change of pace from the usual groups he worked with. Sure, mercenary groups were rough around the edges and made jokes like this, but they were usually more on the cruel side of things. This felt lighthearted, good-natured. A sign that Jesse’s squad was comfortable around him.

“Damn Chesh, you burned me pretty bad there. Hanzo, c’mon, tell him you like me for me.” Jesse nudged his shoulder gently and grinned at him as if to say ‘ _see? They’re warming up to you._ ’

Hanzo glanced over at the squad, it was almost like they were holding their breath to see how he’d respond – but they looked genuinely interested in seeing how he’d respond. He hummed – loud enough for the others to hear him – and made a show of thinking things through. And then he shoved Jesse by the shoulder. Not hard by any means, but Jesse played it up and sprawled on the ground. The others burst into laughter and Hanzo felt…warm. Happy. Pleased. He was glad to have made them happy, that he was being included.

But the look on Jesse’s face – the brilliant smile – would have taken Hanzo’s breath away if he still breathed. That smile cut through the defenses he’d carefully crafted over the years and it was disarming how much he didn’t mind that. Hanzo shook away the thoughts and focused on laughing with the rest of the team. That was what he was here for – to help this squad, not get flustered by a damn cowboy.

 

* * *

 

 

Hanzo wasn’t entirely sure why he’d let himself get dragged along to the team meal when he didn’t eat like a person did. He subsisted off of blood. Eating food was like eating when really full. It still tasted okay, but there was no satisfaction from it. And it was moderately uncomfortable. But he didn’t want to offend the others, so he’d simply agreed and kept his mouth shut. It wasn’t like Hanzo had to eat food while he was there, perhaps they’d just invited him along for camaraderie.  Or they had forgotten that he didn’t need human food. One or the other.

Hanzo took a seat at the large table that was in the center of the mess hall. He crunched in on himself and tried to make himself take up as little space as possible. As much as he was glad to be included, he still felt a bit like an outsider.

Conversations picked up and Hanzo tuned out. None of them were directed at him, after all. His ears were sometimes a bit sensitive to sound, it was something he had never really gotten used to, and with all the overlapping sound it was a little overwhelming. But…at the very least everyone sounded pretty lighthearted. If he was honest with himself, it was a bit of sensory overload, but hearing people sound so relaxed and, well, happy around him was nice. He…liked it. It wasn’t something that he got to experience very often. Hanzo rested his chin against his hand and tuned everything out.

“Howdy.”

Hanzo jolted back to reality and glanced to his right. Jesse had taken a seat next to him and was smiling in a way that was so disarming it nearly frightened Hanzo. Instead of shying away, he merely returned the smile and shifted over a little to give the cowboy a bit more room to sit. Jesse always seemed like he was too big for spaces – partially because he was taller and more strongly built than Hanzo and partially because of his large personality.

“Hello.” Hanzo nodded and then went back to his quietness. He was certain that Jesse had more important, no, more _entertaining_ things to do rather than talk to Hanzo.

He wasn’t entirely sure how long he’d stick around at this meal – Hanzo’s hunger had been building steadily over the past few days and it was getting more difficult to ignore it. He’d find a way to sate it without frightening the team he was working with – he didn’t want to have any setbacks in the progress he’d managed to make with them. At this point, he wouldn’t be able to regain their trust before the assault actually happened. Not enough time.

It was best to play it safe.

“You doin’ okay there, Hanzo?” Jesse’s voice was soft, barely audible over the din and chaos that was dinner. “You’re mighty quiet.”

_I’m always quiet._ Hanzo didn’t say that, though. No, he kept that thought to himself. If he was honest with himself, he didn’t know exactly what he should say in response. “I am doing alright.”

It felt like a cop out – Hanzo didn’t feel particularly _alright_. He felt _hungry._ But saying that would likely put Jesse on edge and he wasn’t willing to risk that. At all.

“Mm, that sounds like ‘I’m not bein’ truthful with you, Jesse.’” He hummed as he started digging in on his dinner. “So…how’re you really doin’, Hanzo?”

Hanzo really shouldn’t be surprised at how astute Jesse is at times, the man was, after all, in charge of the operation. Presumably he didn’t get to that position by sitting on his thumbs or being a pretty face. _Maybe I’m just surprised that he’s being observant about **me**._

“…I suppose I could be better, but I will find a way to handle it.” Hanzo fidgeted with the cuffs of his sleeves to distract himself from the fact that he was starting to be able to hear heartbeats. Soon he’d be able to smell blood…

Another person sat down next to him, Rena. Their eyes met for a moment – his own red gazing into her hazel – she really did look young. _She can’t be more than a teenager…_ She smiled and waved a little before starting in on her food. Hanzo closed his eyes in an attempt to make the steady sound of her pulse get out of his ears.

“You know you don’t have to hide what you are from us, right?” Rena spoke evenly, her tone careful and measured. “You need sustenance just as much as we do.”

Hanzo made a soft, surprised noise at the assessment of his state. She was spot on and he had to wonder if he was really giving off that much of an impression. _Maybe I’m more far gone than I thought I was? Or is she just as observant as Jesse?_ He supposed _that_ made sense as well, Jesse’s squad being just as astute as their leader.

He stared at the table, unable to make eye contact for the moment. “I…” Hanzo’s spiraling thoughts were interrupted when something soft smacked against his forehead. He jolted hard enough that he nearly fell off of his chair and startled badly enough that he found himself taking a few deep breaths that he didn’t exactly need. His eyes fell to the object that had hit him – it was a muffin. He felt his brow furrow in confusion and he continued to stare at the damn muffin. “Um…?”

“I know it won’t give you nourishment or whatever, but eat the damn thing. Vamps can still get flavor from food.” Keiran shrugged. His expression was complete nonchalance, but Jinto and Light, both of whom were sitting next to him, were grinning at him. “You look weird just sitting there and doing nothing.”

“Translation: Keiran feels bad that you’re just sitting there and thinks you’d like the taste of the muffin.” Light snickered as he nudged Keiran’s shoulder. “Don’t mind him, he’s just bad at showing emotions that aren’t snark, anger, and being aloof.”

Hanzo scooped the muffin up into his hand and inhaled its scent. Pleasant, something with chocolate and cherries, and most importantly, it covered up the fact that he could _almost_ smell blood in the air. He had always been fond of sweets when he was human, more so than the elders in his family had appreciated. And even as a vampire, he still sometimes craved desserts and sugar and sweets – even if they didn’t give him anything in return.

“Well, thank you.” Hanzo took a bite of the muffin and closed his eyes as a smile tugged at his cheeks.

“Well now, I think he likes it.” Jesse’s voice was warm and smooth, a hint of laughter coloring it as well. “Right thoughtful of you, KK.”

“Shut up.” Keiran snorted as he ate. “And I told you that you’re not allowed to call me KK.”

“Pullin’ rank on you for that one, KK.”

Dinner continued on for some time, with Hanzo nibbling on the muffin. It was tasty, but it really was like eating when he was overly full. Still delicious, but absolutely unnecessarily. But it dulled the need for blood, so there was that. He’d take the victories he could.

“…what does food taste like to you?” Jack leaned around Rena so he could get a look at Hanzo. “I mean…if that isn’t rude?”

Hanzo blinked. That wasn’t one of the questions that he had anticipated having to answer, but he really didn’t mind. “It’s not rude.” He smiled slightly and took another bite. “It’s like eating when you’re really full. The food is still delicious…but it isn’t satisfying. Like you’re not getting anything from it.”

Silence filled the room, save for the faint sounds of heartbeats and pulses. Hanzo couldn’t blame them for needing a moment to process that. He supposed they didn’t get much of a chance to ask questions of vampires – he might as well let them have the chance. A quick look around the room had him convinced that they thought how food tasted to him was _awful_.

“Then…um…ho…how does blood taste?” It took a few minutes for someone to speak up, but Quentin did it, though her voice was quite timid. “If…that isn’t rude to ask.”

“I…don’t believe it’s a rude question.” Hanzo spoke softly this time and took a bite of the muffin to gather his thoughts. Of all the sensations he went through, this one was the hardest to explain. Because the best thing he could think of offhand was that blood tasted _right._ “Just a difficult one. It tastes different depending on the person…their health…if they’re supernatural. But…it just tastes…right? It does not taste like blood did before my change.”

It felt like a weak answer – but they all seemed to be taking in the information with interest. Jinto in particular looked like he was trying to process and theorize. But no one seemed weirded out or anything like that.

“So…that would mean each vamp would have different preferences?” Cheshire leaned forward on his elbows and tilted his head to the side.

“Yes, each has different preferences, much like humans have different flavors that they prefer.” Hanzo finished off the muffin and dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. “But I will take my leave now…” He stood, bowed slightly, and made his way to the door. _I need some air…_

All the talk of blood had him focusing on things he should not be focusing on while he was surrounded by humans. It didn’t take Hanzo long to get out to an exit to the outdoors. The cool night air felt wonderful against his skin – it was slightly damp, like it might rain. The moon was high in the sky and nearing fullness. It really was a beautiful night… Hanzo leaned against the wall and ran hands through his hair to try and calm himself. He felt too hot, every little stimulus irritated his skin and drove that hunger to the forefront of his mind. _Not good. That was close…_ He’d stay outside until he calmed himself, then he would sneak back to his room and isolate until he had his hunger under control.

“You didn’t have to run off, you know.”

Hanzo jumped when he heard the voice and scraped his palms against the rough brick exterior of the building. He didn’t need to look to know that it was Jesse who was standing next to him. He was familiar enough with the other man’s scent now to smell him before seeing him. That…and he could hear his steady breathing and heartbeat. Hanzo was a bit embarrassed that he was quite familiar with _those_ aspects of Jesse as well. His heartbeat always remained quite steady, even when the others’ were pounding in distress or from exertion. It was comforting…

“I didn’t want to endanger anyone.” Hanzo finally glanced over in Jesse’s direction. He was illuminated by the moonlight – the dramatic lighting made him look even more rugged, dangerous even. The hat didn’t help matters. “So I removed myself from the situation.”

“Not what I meant, sugar.” Jesse took a few steps closer; he was approaching slowly, like Hanzo was a frightened animal. He supposed he was one, in a way.

Hanzo tensed slightly when the aroma of blood damn near overwhelmed him. He clenched his hands into fists, nails biting into his skin. He fought back the urge to take a step away from Jesse; fought the urge to _run away_ before he did something stupid. “I…”

“I know you ain’t gonna hurt me.”

_How is his pulse so steady? Shouldn’t he be afraid? I could kill him if he gets too close!_ Hanzo cringed internally as he stepped back, his clothes snagging on the rough wall. _No, I don’t want to hurt him, I couldn’t do that…I…_

“You’re not like that, sweetheart.” Jesse kept coming closer, which only had Hanzo tensing up even more. “An’ I meant you didn’t have to run off because I have blood for you.”

“What?? I’m not going to…that’s…!” _Surely he doesn’t mean that he wants me to feed off of him…that’s…I couldn’t do that…_

“Relax.” Jesse reached into his bag and held out a small pouch and the scent of blood hit Hanzo even harder. “This is what I meant. We’ve got more if this isn’t enough. Most everyone donated some. Some aren’t able to because medical reasons.”

_They donated blood for me…?_ Hanzo stared at the bag in Jesse’s hand like it was the strangest thing he’d ever seen. It really wasn’t, he had encountered them before. Genji had morbidly referred to it as being like a ‘blood juice box.’ It was the fact that the squad had done this for him that was throwing him through a loop. “I…am unsure what I should say.”

“You don’t gotta say nothing. We figured you’d be gettin’ a bit hungry, figured we should find a way to help.” Jesse was grinning and still holding the bag out to Hanzo. “You’re part of our team, we take care of each other.”

Hanzo forced himself to relax enough to take the bag from Jesse. He wanted to say thank you, but he needed to feed, he needed to right now. He opened the bag and started drinking. It wasn’t quite the same when it was from a bag, but he was more than happy to have _something_ to sustain him. He nearly groaned from relief as the sticky liquid hit his tongue – he only managed to _not_ groan because he knew Jesse was still nearby. It tasted right, so right, and had a bit of a tang to it that told him whoever had donated this was probably a bit supernatural. It did not take Hanzo long to drain the bag. He closed his eyes and sighed happily as his hunger ebbed away, though it was still present.

He was quiet for a few more moments, his mind fuzzy from the warm, heavy feeling that was chugging through his body. “…thank you…” Hanzo’s voice was soft, the edge that had been there before dulled down. “I feel better…but I could use a bit more. Just…in case.” He didn’t want to take chances.

It was difficult to meet Jesse’s eyes – he wasn’t sure how he felt about Jesse seeing him like this. He wasn’t sure what Jesse would think. There were a lot of unknowns and he didn’t like not knowing things. But what was tripping him up the most was the fact that he _cared_ what Jesse thought. This man he’d known for little more than two weeks. Hanzo really cared what Jesse thought.

“Glad you’re feelin’ better, Hanzo.” Jesse’s tone was genuine. Again, he reached into the bag and handed it off to Hanzo. “Like I said, we’ve got plenty. Everyone was adamant about makin’ sure you had something to eat. Figured you wouldn’t say anything.”

He wanted to argue that – that he would have said something – but obviously Hanzo _hadn’t_ said something. “It was very kind of them. I did not want to frighten anyone…so…I did not bring it up.”

“Hell, none of us would have been scared any.” Jesse snorted and shook his head. “We all know what you are…and you’ve earned both their and my trust. We know you wouldn’t hurt us.”

It was true. Hanzo wouldn’t hurt them. He would sooner flee the area and find a way to feed rather than taking the risk of injuring one of the team. “I am not used to being trusted.”

Jesse nudged his shoulder, Hanzo could feel the heat from his body through his shirt. _When did he get so close to me?_ The action was playful, as was the grin on Jesse’s face. “Get used to it, we know you’ve got our back, so we’re gonna be watchin’ your pretty back and keepin’ you safe too.”

Hanzo fidgeted to hide that he was a bit flustered and stared down at the ground. “I appreciate the trust.” His voice was softer than usual. It almost felt like his heart was pounding, even though he had no heartbeat. And he’d swear that he was blushing…actually…could he even blush…? But he couldn’t really figure out _why_. Certainly not because he was being called _pretty_. It wasn’t like this was the first time he’d gotten a compliment, he’d gotten plenty before his change. Part from his looks, part from the fact that he was the heir to a yakuza organization. _Its been a long time since I’ve felt like this…_

“Hey now,  I think you’re showing more trust than we are.” Jesse’s gaze fell on Hanzo and didn’t drift away. “you’re  the one who basically walked into the lion’s den, aren’t you? Takes more than a little bravery to walk into a place like Blackwatch  and trust that they’ll keep their word.”

Hanzo wasn’t entirely sure he agreed with Jesse’s opinion on that, but he could understand where he was coming from. If Hanzo had become a threat, he knew that Blackwatch wouldn’t hesitate in eliminating him. If he had wound up walking into the meeting only to find out thqt Blackwatch was actually planning on killing him,  he wouldn’t have been able to do much of anything. He would have been completely at their mercy. He really shouldn’t focus on that. Not like it was actually going to happen.

“I guess that’s fair.” Hanzo sighed as he started in on the second pouch, though he was going far more slowly now. He wasn’t quite as desperate as he had been. “Thank you for looking out for me, Jesse.”

He wasn’t sure what else he could say, anything else felt a bit inappropriate considering the overall situation. Add in that Hanzo wasn’t  exactly sure what he was feeling in general and it was guaranteed that he was going to keep his mouth shut.

“ain’t no problem, sugar.” Jesse offered a gentle, warm smile.

Hanzo blinked when he saw Jesse reaching toward him he froze. Fingers brushed against his cheeks and his mind supplied the sensation of his heart skipping a beat. Then Jesse brushed his hair back behind his ear, though his touch was lingering more than was appropriate. _It almost feels like something more is going to happen…_ He pushed that thought away only for anther to pop up. _I almost want more to happen…_

“OY JESSE!” Basilisk shouted from the door, a hint of laughter in his voice. “Stop trying to seduce him!”

Hanzo spluttered at the words, but was unable to actually say anything. _That has to be a joke…they’re always teasing like that, it means nothing._

“Jesus, Basilisk,  what the fuck?! Can’t a man get some damn privacy?” Jesse let out an indignant squawk as he jolted away from Hanzo like he’d been burned.

“No privacy for you, cowboy.” Basilisk called from the door. “Rena wanted to talk to you before bed, might as well come in.”

It genuinely looked like Jesse was going to debate having to go inside and do his job, but instead he visibly sagged before pushing away from the wall. Hanzo found himself fixed with an unreadable expression, some emotion that he couldn’t quite place. All he knew was that there was an odd tugging in his chest. He shook the thought away and headed into the building. Now wasn’t the time to be getting distracted like that, not when the assault was looming closer and closer.

 

* * *

 

 

Hanzo was almost disappointed when intel came in that the attack would be happening that evening. He’d genuinely been enjoying his time with Blackwatch, it was a nice break from his usual reality. It was nice to feel trusted, it was nice to be able to trust, and it was hhce to have people there for him. Even the wariest of Jesse’s squad had warmed up to him, they’d all done things to make him comfortable and welcome. They’d all been so kind to him.

He almost didn’t want to leave.

But now wasn’t the time to think about that. Hanzo needed all of his focus, he wouldn’t risk putting the others in danger. The attachment to a temporary team was new for him, he wasn’t used to feeling like he’d never forgive himself if the others got hurt. There was a small, nagging voice in the back of his mind that screamed that he didn’t want _Jesse_ hurt especially.

Hanzo was situated on the roof with his bow and a few other weapons – ones that Blackwatch had provided for him. Jesse trusted that Hanzo knew his way around a bow, but he wanted insurance in case there were more enemies than the report estimated. He didn’t blame him for the caution, in fact, he would usually be praising him. The only reason he wasn’t was because he was preoccupied with watching the horizon for signs of danger and listening to the team chattering over comms.

Hanzo didn’t have to wait long. He could see movement in the distance. A large amount of battle ready soldiers, weaponry, all sorts of hellish things. Worse yet, Hanzo could feel a distinct vampiric aura as well. He tapped the comm device that was in his ear so he could broadcast. “Incoming – two miles out and approaching fast. Estimate 50 troops as well as weaponry. I can feel a vampire amongst them.”

A flicker of static transmitted over the device and had Hanzo flinching away and wanting to yank it out of his ear. Soon enough, Jesse’s voice was coming through. “Not good, but nothing we didn’t anticipate. Basilisk, Cheshire, you two be ready to get out there if they manage to clear our welcoming gifts.”

Hanzo quirked a brow at the mention of ‘welcoming gifts’ – it wasn’t knowledge that he was privy to. He could assume that it was another insurance policy. He couldn’t imagine a scenario where things would go _well_ with the Blackwatch guys on the ground. Skilled as they were, they were severely outnumbered and didn’t exactly know what was being thrown at them. As much as they were able to improvise how to handle situations…there was only so much that could be done when there was a large number of potentially supernatural beings charging at the base. As such, Hanzo was more than a little curious as to what their attackers were going to run into.

He pulled out his bow and got into position as the attackers got closer and closer. Hanzo was capable of hitting the attackers from this distance, even further, but he would wait until Jesse gave the order to start firing. Hanzo wasn’t in charge of this operation, Jesse was. Hanzo wasn’t going to fuck up Jesse’s plans just because he could hit a target from this distance.

“Hey Hanzo, sugar, how’s about you send them a nice hello?” Jesse practically sang through the comms device. “They’re our guests, after all.”

Hanzo nocked an arrow and drew back with a smooth motion. He couldn’t remember if it was him or Genji who had thought of the explosive arrows, but they really were one of his most devastating forms of ranged attack. He took careful aim and loosed the arrow after exhaling slowly. The arrow’s flight was true and embedded in the ground just before the first line of attackers. The ground erupted in a shower of dirt, grass, and other detritus and sent the attackers flying backwards. He could see splatters of gore painting the torn up earth.

“Damn! Pretty handy with that bow, ain’tcha?” Jesse barked out a laugh and Hanzo could just imagine the grin on his face. “Keep those shots goin’ until I say. Please and thank you, sweetheart.”

Hanzo was about to respond when he registered that Jesse had called him _sweetheart_. He opened his mouth to say something – _anything_ – but the only sound that came out was a strangled _squeak_. “…sweetheart?!”

A few chuckles came through the comms from Jesse and the others and his body rudely decided it was time for the unpleasant reminder of what a pounding heart and flushing cheeks felt like.

“Aw, but you’re so sweet, I’ve gotta let everyone know~”

Hanzo fired another arrow just to distract himself from the nearly overwhelming embarrassment.

“Stop flirting over the general comms channel, you pervert.” Cheshire snorted – it was pretty clear he was trying to hold back a laugh. “You know better, McCree.”

“Ohhhh, callin’ me by my last name, must be in trouble. Didn’t realize you were so uptight, _dad_.”

There were a few more comments that were in the same vein that didn’t do anything to help how flustered Hanzo felt, but they tapered off as the attackers got closer and closer. He was finding that the lighthearted chatter was actually quite nice during the mission…it made him feel more at ease. And if he was at ease, it was easier for him to snipe. Tension didn’t make anything better or easier.

He shot arrow after arrow, until there was just as much dirt and dust in the air as smoke – a thick haze that almost made it difficult for him to ascertain where the assailants were.

“That’s good, pumpkin. Hold up for a second.” Jesse gave a few rapid fire orders to Cheshire and Basilisk as well as a few of the others. “Let’s see how many make it past this part.”

Hanzo made an affirmative sound and then watched the battlefield to see what would happen. The remaining attackers continued moving forward, seemingly undeterred by Hanzo’s exploding arrows. The first few steps they took into the field that separated them from the Blackwatch were uneventful – almost to the point that he thought that whatever Jesse had planned wasn’t working. Hanzo opened his mouth to speak, but fell silent when his ears were assaulted with explosions.

He yelped when the sky blazed orange and red – it was a quick enough change in lighting that it genuinely hurt his eyes for a few moments. Hanzo put a hand up to shield them, still having to squint to really see much of anything. The first few rows of attackers had been decimated and the ground was torn up just as badly as it was from Hanzo’s explosive arrows. He watched carefully as a brave attacker stepped forward and was just…gone. It took him a moment to realize that stepping on the ground was causing the explosions. That Jesse had set up mines around the building – no wonder he didn’t want Hanzo running around down on the ground. Too much of a chance of him getting hurt.

The closer the attackers got, the more traps they triggered. More mines, spikes, flamethrowers, all sorts of terrible fates. Hanzo would have been a bit frightened if Jesse was on the other team, these methods were both vicious and ingenious. They were a good way to level the playing field.

Hanzo tapped the comm device in his ear before speaking. “Nice tactics, cowboy.”

“Right?” Jesse laughed. “My favorite is the flashbang trap. Makes me feel all tingly~”

“Jesse! Gross!” Quentin was barely holding back laughter. “We don’t want to know what makes you ‘tingly’.”

_Maybe I should turn the comms device off. This is a bit distracting…_ Hanzo tried to shake away the thoughts about tingling and other things of that nature. _Focus, Shimada. There’s a fight. Losing focus in a fight is a death sentence._

All laughter ceased a moment later. One of the attackers – the one with the strong vampiric aura – was racing across the field. Either he stepped lightly enough that he wasn’t triggering traps, or he had figured out the pattern that Jesse and the others had used. Neither of those options comforted Hanzo in any way.

“Hanzo, use the babies I gave you. Don’t let that fucker get in our house.”

He settled in on his belly so he could properly fire the oversized sniper rifle. There was also a rocket launcher that fired trios of missiles at once in case things got truly dire. Hanzo exhaled slowly and brought his focus in – the male vampire that was darting around the field was agile and strongly built. Even from a distance, he looked dangerous and Hanzo didn’t want him getting in. Though there were multiple reasons for that. Perhaps he was being slightly territorial, but he didn’t want that other vampire anywhere near _his_ team. So he fired once, and then again, the recoil of the gun not moving him at all. The first shot clipped the man’s arm, blood spraying dramatically, the second shot missed my millimeters. But it didn’t slow him down. If the man’s identity as a vampire had been in doubt before (it wasn’t), it would have been completely confirmed by that alone.

“Good shot, let’s see another one, sugar.”

Hanzo cursed under his breath and shifted so he could get a better angle. Another few shots, a few grazed the vampire, some were close, but most were misses. Jesse was still praising him, but Hanzo knew that he could do better. He knew he was capable of more, of actually getting something done. He shoved the sniper rifle away and grabbed the rocket launcher. It wasn’t a type of weapon that he’d usually use, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And despite not usually using one, Hanzo was well aware on how they functioned.

He shouldered it and took aim. He fired shot after shot, both ground and assailants exploding. Hanzo scored a direct hit on the other vampire, but the man shrugged it off like it was nothing. _That’s terrifying…I don’t think I could ignore a direct hit from a fucking rocket launcher…just how old and powerful is this guy??_

“Jesse, I don’t think I can keep him at bay for much longer.” Hanzo’s voice was tight and he could feel tension creeping into his shoulders and back. “We really need to regroup and prepare for the next part.”

“Got it, sugar. Fire a few more volleys then get yourself down by us.”

Hanzo didn’t really see the point of firing a few more shots, but he figured that insubordination wasn’t exactly appropriate at the moment. There was a time and a place for everything, and right now he shouldn’t be questioning his superior officer’s commands. So he fired a few more shots that didn’t really do anything before retreating to the inside of the building.

 

* * *

 

 

It didn’t take him long to find where Jesse and the others were holed up. It was an interior room, one that would be extremely difficult for the attackers to get at. They’d have to make it through several layers of already existing Blackwatch security and all of the squad as well. It was a nice, defensible area. But it wasn’t a place with good exit points. And that had Hanzo more concerned than he wanted to admit. It left a bad taste in his mouth, one that he couldn’t shake. 

Hanzo entered the room and was greeted by the muzzle of a pistol being shoved in his face. He froze in his tracks and held his hands up in a classic pose of ‘I don’t want trouble.’ It took him a moment to find his voice – somehow it had locked up in his throat. It felt like it had been forever since he’d experienced a fear response, especially one so potent that he actually froze. “It’s me, Hanzo.”

The door opened marginally more and Jack peered around it with his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Hanzo watched his expression shift toward relief and for an instant just how young Jack was showed. The door was opened all the way and Hanzo was tugged in by the collar of his shirt. Under different circumstances, he might have snapped at someone who grabbed him like that, but right now all he could do was splutter and bat at the hands that were holding him.

“Good…you made it in safely.” Jesse looked a bit haggard and had a cigar hanging from the side of his mouth. “Real glad of that.”

“No problems getting in. The walls haven’t been breached yet.”

But it wasn’t going to be long before they were. Hanzo was well aware of that fact. The unknown vampire had been approaching the Blackwatch base at alarming speeds and had been shrugging off blows that shouldn’t be so easily ignored. Hanzo estimated that he was going to be arriving at the base in the next ten minutes or so. It didn’t give them an incredible amount of time to prepare. _Not that I can think of anything we can do that’ll make this less of a clusterfuck…_

Hanzo leaned against the wall as the others milled about nervously. They were inspecting their gear, checking over each other for wounds, things like that. Little tasks to keep themselves distracted from the fact that they were all in deep shit. The intel had said there would be vampires, but nothing about how _strong_ they would be. If there had been information on that, Hanzo would have recommended recruiting another vampire or a few other supernatural creatures to help out.

Hanzo doubted that the force they had now was enough to make it through the siege.

“Alright…so here’s how everything’s gonna go.” Jesse stood up and started pacing around in an almost predatory fashion. “We’re gonna hold this room. We’re gonna hold this building. Blackwatch doesn’t give up.” His voice was a bit thicker than usual, almost choked up. “Hanzo, you’re gonna handle everything in the halls. Don’t leave any of ‘em alive. Don’t be worried about property damage or anything like that. Just…get rid of ‘em. Let’s get everything set up in here, barricades at the like.”

Hanzo turned to go and help the others, but felt a hand stop him. He turned around and found Jesse smiling at him. “Yes…?”

“How’s about a good luck kiss for me, hm? Just to make sure everything goes alright.”

Hanzo sputtered and looked away to hide his flustered expression. “Don’t be daft. Everything will be fine, Jesse. Don’t act like we’re not getting out of this.” _if we get out of this, I will kiss him…_

With that, everyone was scrambling to get things set up. Hanzo helped them – he wanted them as safe as possible. He gave advice, he tried his best to give them some extra forms of safety. Hanzo wasn’t entirely sure it would do anything in the long run, but…well…he was trying. He was making an attempt.

But a terrible feeling was climbing up his spine and settling into his gut like a block of ice. Instincts told him that something bad was about to happen, that it was going to happen soon and there was nothing he could do to actually stop it. He tried to shake away the feeling, but it merely intensified. _I hate not knowing…_

A rumble passed through the floor of the room and Hanzo went stock still. The building seemed to groan, the ground shuddering beneath his feet. He was still trying to process what might be happening when the walls heaved and brick and mortar came shattering in.

Hanzo held his arms up to protect his face from shards of stone he knew would be flying inwards, but nothing hit him. He opened his eyes slowly and lowered his arms. There was a gaping hole in the wall – one that opened up into the hallway that was outside of the room. But what really caught his attention was the fact that huge chunks of stone were levitating. A series of clicks and whirs rang through the room, followed by a pained grunt.

“Did I get everything? Did anyone get hurt?” Rena bit the words out, pain edging into her voice. Her posture was stiff and her hands were held out in front of her. Hanzo could see her arms shaking from exertion and could vaguely see the yellow-orange glow of her cybernetics through her clothing. “I think I –” Her voice cut off mid-sentence and trailed into a choked, pained gurgle. The rocks that she’d been holding crashed to the ground. Rena dropped to her knees like a marionette whose strings had been severed, blood dripping from the side of her mouth. Jack ran to her side, arms wrapping around her to keep her crumpling down even further.

Hanzo tensed when the room was very suddenly filled with oppressively strong vampiric aura. It felt like he was being crushed flat, that he couldn’t move, that he couldn’t do _anything_. He hated it, he hated that feeling, he absolutely hated feeling _helpless._ Like he was prey, like he was being _hunted_.

“It’s cute that you thought getting your own pet vampire would save you from your fates.” It was hard to tell if the voice was echoing through the building or if it was merely within his mind, but given how everyone was reacting, Hanzo could assume that it wasn’t a hallucination. The man’s voice was smooth and charismatic in all the wrong ways and had an underlying edge of cruelty. “Go ahead, keep fighting. It won’t change anything.”

With the words said, the crushing sensation was gone as quickly as it had come on. Hanzo tensed when he heard many sets of feet stomping into the halls. The soldiers had made their way into the facility. He snarled, his proverbial hackles raising, and he took a few steps closer to the giant hole in the wall.

“…Rena…please…Rena…!!” Jack’s voice broke through Hanzo’s thoughts. The pain in his voice struck straight through Hanzo’s heart. “Rena…c’mon…this…isn’t funny…”

She was gone, that much was obvious to him. Hanzo couldn’t hear her heartbeat anymore. He wanted to be there for Jack, he wanted to be there for the others, but there was danger coming. A lot of it. Hanzo glanced across the room and caught Jesse’s eye. His face was neutral, but his eyes looked so sad and so old that it physically _hurt_ Hanzo to hold eye contact. But Jesse nodded and flicked his head toward the hall – he seemed to understand what Hanzo was trying to convey.

“Alright Jackie…I need you in the here and now.” Jesse looked away from Hanzo and moved in to take care of his squad member. “I need you and the others do too. Now Hanzo’s goin’ out in that hallway. An’ I need you guys to not shoot him full o’ bullets while we’re holdin’ this room. Got it?”

Hanzo walked out of the room to the sounds of weak assent from the rest of the team. It was easy to hear that they were demoralized from losing one of their own. He wanted to make sure they didn’t lose anyone else. Once he was fully in the hallway Hanzo shoved the voices of the team out of his mind and brought his focus to the current task. Eliminate the intruders. Keep everyone safe.

He growled and lunged at the incoming forces. Hanzo didn’t even bother using his weapons at this range, they would only slow him down. It was like using a hot knife to cut through butter – the attackers fell at his feet one after another.

“Now now…look at Blackwatch’s little pet vampire…” The voice from before rang out in the hallway. “Fighting hard for them. Their little attack dog…”

Hanzo whirled around and bared his teeth with a hiss. “I am _not_ a dog!”

The other vampire’s hair was deep red and his eyes were sharp as knives. Hanzo froze again, like he was a mouse rather than another predator. The weakness from before returned tenfold and Hanzo hated it even _more_ this time around. _Why am I freezing? Why can’t I move…?_

“Are you scared?” The man was walking closer and Hanzo cursed internally when his legs refused to respond. “So helpless…can’t even move. Who would have thought that Hanzo Shimada would be so pathetic.”

“I’m not pathetic.” Hanzo bit the words out as he clenched his fists tight. He forced himself to take a step forward even though it felt like his muscles were locked up. “Who the hell are you?”

_Why does he know who I am?_

“Ali al Saachez.” He replied with a voice that was smooth as whiskey and made Hanzo’s skin crawl. “And you are a pathetic dog. You could be ruling over these humans, yet here you are obeying their every order. Nice leash they have you on.”

A scream from the room the team was barricaded in had Hanzo looking away from Ali. He saw Aria and Babylon getting overrun and ran over there to help them. It seemed helping them overrode whatever intimidation ‘spell’ Ali was using on Hanzo. He ripped the attackers off of Babylon and Aria and threw them to the side – the assailants went still after they crashed into the wall.

Hanzo’s pride at keeping his team alive was short lived. He was about to say something to the two of them when pain lanced through his body. He gasped and coughed, blood bubbling out of his mouth. Each cough had his body wracked in pain and he couldn’t get his mouth to form words.

“That was rude of you, Hanzo.” Ali’s voice was still so smooth, but it sounded much more dangerous now. “Walking away from our conversation, I’ll just have to teach you how to respect your elders.”

_How the hell did I make such an amateur mistake?? What the hell is on this knife? It hurts so much…_ Hanzo gasped as he was yanked away from Aria and Babylon and smashed against the wall and held in place. He snarled and started coughing again, more blood dripping from his mouth. _What the hell…I don’t understand…_

“You look so confused…so weak and helpless…” Ali easily kept him pinned in place. “Maybe I’ll just keep you here while my men destroy your _masters_.”

“They aren’t…you can’t…!” Hanzo struggled to free himself, but couldn’t make any headway. _What the hell is wrong with me??_

“Oh… I can. This blade has a unique poison that is especially potent against vampires.” Ali smirked and dragged the blade across Hanzo’s cheek bone. Blinding pain followed and Hanzo had to physically hold back from crying out. Ali barked out a few orders in a language that Hanzo didn’t know and the men started swarming the room.

_No, I can’t just sit here and do nothing! I can’t…I can’t…I won’t be helpless…I won’t…I refuse!_ Hanzo kicked and fought, tried to get himself free in any way possible. But he couldn’t, there was something about the poison that kept him from moving. He had to sit and watch. He had to sit and watch as his team was slowly overrun by Ali’s men. As they were hurt, as they were _killed_. All while Ali traced lines against Hanzo’s skin with the knife and made unwanted commentary.

Aria and Babylon fell first. Hanzo watched Jesse going for a shot that wasn’t going to work and tried to yell to him that something was wrong – only to have a hand clench onto his throat tightly enough that he couldn’t speak at all. Aria dived in front of the man who was going to shoot Jesse and Babylon was riddled with bullets while trying to get Aria to safety.

Cheshire and Basilisk were soon after that. It was easy to see that the two of them were getting tired; that their bodies were wearing out and that they wouldn’t be able to help anymore. They ran into a dense group of enemies and, well, the only way Hanzo could explain it was that they exploded.  They took down a group of enemies…and unfortunately themselves.

“Look at them sacrificing themselves because _you can’t do anything_.” Ali got much too close to Hanzo’s face and was smug as a snake. Hanzo wanted to make him suffer for everything that he was doing…

Hanzo freed one of his arms and slammed his fist into Ali’s face. He snarled and tackled him clear across the hallway. He punched Ali across the face again. And again. The third time had him wincing as something in his hand cracked unpleasantly – but it was a momentary distraction. Vampires healed quickly.

“Oh…there’s the fighter.” Ali laughed through the blood trailing down his face. He grabbed onto Hanzo’s left wrist with a vise grip. “Are you angry with me? Do you _hate_ me?” Hanzo could only snarl in response. “ _Good_. Fight like you mean it, dog. You _bore_ me.”

He could hear the others in the background – the yells of ‘ _Jack no!_ ’ and then wild gunfire and cursing. More yelling, distressed, desperate cries. Another death. Another one fallen because Hanzo was too weak to overcome this bastard of a vampire. People he had bonded with, people that he cared about. _All I bring is misfortune…_

Hanzo kept fighting – little more than feral biting and clawing – Ali. He yelped as his wrist was crushed and the defiance in him drained away just for a moment. It was, unfortunately, long enough for Ali to drag both of them back to their feet. Hanzo tried to drive his foot into Ali’s diaphragm, but his body froze when he felt the long knife plunge deep into his abdomen and pin him to the wall.

“You bore me. I’ll finish this…and then come back and kill you after you’ve watched them all die.” Ali walked away, leaving Hanzo struggling to free himself from the wall.

“No!” Hanzo felt blood trickle down his chin and he coughed. “No…don’t…”

He couldn’t get free. He couldn’t pull the knife out, his arms just wouldn’t work. Hanzo didn’t want to see them die, he didn’t want to lose them, he didn’t want to lose _Jesse_.

“Oh, what do you three think you can do to me, hm?” Ali’s voice took on a mocking, taunting tone. “Surely you don’t think you can fight me and survive.”

Hanzo’s eyes settled onto the familiar forms of Keiran, Jinto, and Light. The three of them looked caught between nausea and fury with a hint of fear.

“Oh, we’re going to fight you.” Jinto’s voice was deceptively calm and even. “But we have no intention of getting out of this alive.”

_What? What the hell are they doing??_ Hanzo tried to speak, but the only sound that left him was a pained groan. _Pathetic, I’m so pathetic…I’m…how…I don’t want them to die…_ He reached out toward them with one arm, his hand trembling hard. _Please don’t…_

“Stay still.” Jesse’s voice was right next to him, gruff and pained. “I’ll get you free, sugar.”

Hanzo did as he was told and stayed still. The knife was pulled free and his vision blurred. _I…think I might be dying…_ He hadn’t felt this bad in a very long time, namely, when he became a vampire. Everything felt…wrong. There was no other way to describe it. His body was just _wrong_. Hanzo squeaked as he was scooped up into Jesse’s arms, cradled as though he was something precious and breakable. From his spot in Jesse’s arms, he could see Jinto, Light, and Keiran backing Ali away from the barricaded room. Once they were a decent distance away, Hanzo saw Jinto tap a device that was in his hand. An explosion rattled through the hallway – one that left nothing behind. _They died so Jesse could save me…I’m sorry…_

He closed his eyes as Jesse carried him. “…you didn’t have to get me…I…I’m…”

“Hush now…I’ve gotcha.” Jesse’s voice was soothing. “Can’t let you get hurt like that, sugar. You still owe me a kiss.” The teasing tone was there, but it felt forced. Hanzo appreciated it nonetheless.

“I’m sorry…sorry that I…”

Gunshots rang out. Hanzo felt Jesse jolt and it didn’t take him long to realize that he’d been shot. _Because he’s carrying me and can’t defend himself._ But Jesse kept walking, kept making his way back to the semi-safe, barricaded room. More gunshots echoed through the hallway and Jesse jerked again, a hiss of pain leaving him. He still didn’t stop. Very suddenly, Jesse stopped in his tracks and made an odd gurgling sound.

“Don’t any of you know that it’s rude to walk away from conversations…?” Ali’s voice. The explosion hadn’t killed Ali. _Of course he survived, I would be able to survive an explosion and he’s stronger than me…_

Hanzo opened his eyes and saw a blade sticking out from Jesse’s chest, it was dangerously close to his heart. He could hear his pulse going erratic, how pained his breathing was. That he was _dying_. Jesse slumped to the ground with Hanzo still in his arms.

“Jesse!” Quentin’s voice cracked as she yelled from the safe room. “Shit, Jesse’s…we’ll come get you!”

“Stay put.” Jesse bit the words out – his tone harsh and pained. “That’s an order. All three of you stay put.”

Ali barked out a laugh as he continued advancing closer and closer. “Look at him…dying like the pathetic louse he is. What are you going to do once your master is gone, Hanzo?”

Hanzo was sprawled across Jesse’s lap, unable to really move. Ali was moving closer and closer, but at the pace of a glacier. He was letting tension build, he was being cocky. Ali knew that he had won. “Jesse…I can’t…I can’t save us…” _I’m sorry…_

“You can. I’m dyin’, we both know it. Drain me. Take my power and kill that fucking cockroach.” The pain had Jesse sounding far gruffer than usual, so much harsher. “I know you can, love. I know you can. I believe in you.”

Hanzo stared at Jesse like he’d sprouted a second head for two reasons. The first was being referred to by the word _love_. His body gave the phantom feeling of his heart racing and he tried his hardest to ignore that. The second reason sobered him up some. Jesse wanted him to drain him, drink all his blood, and use his power. But…Hanzo didn’t want Jesse to die. He wanted to find a way to save him, he didn’t want to be the cause of death. But Jesse’s face was set in a combination of determination, hope, and _fear_. Quentin, Ally, and Nel were all still alive. If Hanzo didn’t do something, they were all dead…

More deaths would be his fault.

“I believe in you, Hanzo…” Jesse whispered as he hunched down over Hanzo. His lips were so close to Hanzo’s. Hanzo could feel his breath coming in sharp, ragged gasps – it was a harsh contrast to the hand that moved to gently cup his cheek. Before he knew it, their lips were pressed together in a sweet, lingering kiss. It wasn’t the time or the place for a kiss, but Hanzo didn’t _care_. He let himself get pulled into the sensations, his hands reaching and carding through Jesse’s hair. All too soon, Jesse was pulling back, a grin on his face. “Got that kiss after all…”

Hanzo laughed in spite of the situation. “You did…” He shifted, his body aching as he moved. He needed to sit up more, he needed a better angle. He brushed a kiss against Jesse’s cheek before whispering a soft apology into his ear.

“Go on…do it, love. I believe in you…”

He closed his eyes and cursed that he could feel tears burning there. Hanzo kissed Jesse’s neck once and then sank his fangs into the tender flesh. He held Jesse close as he drank him in – the rush of endorphins brought on from the blood was nearly enough to overwhelm him. But the emotions that were flickering between the two of them were far more overwhelming to Hanzo. How much Jesse cared, how he really felt about Hanzo, the fear of being killed by a monster like Ali, the trust he had in Hanzo… It was almost too much. He kept drinking, tears streaming down his face as he did so. He kept going until Jesse’s pulse faded away to nothing.

Hanzo gasped as his body abruptly healed itself at warp speed as new power flushed through his system, as new _knowledge_ did so as well. He’d never healed that quickly before – not from the type of injuries he had sustained. It was such a curious feeling…it was like another consciousness was in his mind with him. As though Jesse was living on _inside_ him. It was such a bizarre sentiment. _I must be getting sappy…_ He wiped tears away from his face and got to his feet a moment later.

“Hmph…he’s already dead. Weaker than I thought. Not worth anything. Barely even a flea.”

Hanzo felt his temper flare up at the insult to Jesse, his teeth gritting tightly. “…you called him a flea.” His voice was shaking, bordering on furious. “You called him a louse, a pest. You will _never_ be as good as this man was.”

“Oh…did I go and hurt your feelings? Did I kill your little boyfriend?” Ali rolled his eyes. “It’s time for you to die now, Hanzo. You bore me more than the flea did.”

Hanzo snarled and moved in a blink of an eye. He grabbed Ali by the throat and slammed his head against the wall as hard as he could. Over. And over. “His name is Jesse and he is a better man than you ever will be.”

“Was. He’s dead.” Ali spit on Hanzo’s face.

The noise Hanzo made was somewhere between a scream and a hiss. He slammed Ali down onto the ground and repeatedly punched him across the face. There were words leaving his mouth, but they weren’t articulate. They were his rage boiling over, hot and fast but without much substance to them.

“ _He doesn’t seem to have a very high opinion of me._ ” The voice came from within Hanzo’s mind. “ _Hey there love…_ ” Hanzo froze for a split second and clenched his teeth. “ _Looks like you’re stuck with me, darlin’. So how’s about we finish this up and get my team out of this hellhole? Lemme help you…_ ”

Hanzo wasn’t entirely sure what was happening, but he relaxed and let it happen. It was almost like something was taking control of his limbs, helping them through actions they didn’t quite know yet. It was bizarre…but it didn’t feel wrong. It just felt weird and new. It was something he’d get used to because he trusted Jesse so much. He knew that Jesse would get them out of this safely.

He wasn't aware of when he stood up. He felt himself reaching for the gun that was holstered at his side – something he’d usually never do. Hanzo wasn’t skilled with guns, or at least he wasn’t as skilled with them as he was with his bow or hand to hand combat. But Jesse…he knew Jesse was a gunslinger. The gun was in his right hand – his non dominant hand, but it was _Jesse’s_ shooting hand.

He felt heat roll up through his body and the scent of dust and sand wafted into his nose. Orange cliffs jutted up toward a clear blue sky, the sun hanging high above him – places that Hanzo had never seen before. A bird shrieked, a church bell tolled…and the world seemed to grey out, save for the most vital spots on his enemies. On Ali…and the remainder of his soldiers. The ones who were going for Quentin, Ally, and Nel. The ones going for _him_ as well. Life or death, kill or be killed.

“…step right up…” Hanzo said the words without realizing, in an inflection that wasn’t quite his own. Five seconds later, once there were dark red dots hanging over those vital points, his finger squeezed the trigger, seemingly of its own volition. “Draw!”

The gun went off in rapid fire – it fired far more bullets than the gun held. Hanzo knew that, he knew it was impossible, but he didn’t question it. Ali hit the ground and didn’t move again, the soldiers that were advancing fell to the ground motionless. Despite Ali laying there unmoving, Hanzo fired several more rounds into him just to be certain. He’d survived an explosion, after all. Hanzo was shaking as he held the gun out. _Is it over…?_

“How’d you do that?” Nel’s voice was tremulous at best. “That’s…that’s Jesse’s…”

Hanzo dropped the gun and turned around to see Quentin, Ally, and Nel staring at him like he was the devil himself. _I wonder if they saw me drain him…I wouldn’t blame them for being afraid. Or hating me._

“That’s Jesse’s deadeye technique.” Ally crossed her arms over her chest, a calculating look on her face. “How…”

But Quentin looked far less suspicious than the other two. “…Jesse’s the only one who can use that ability.” Her eyes drifted over to Jesse’s body. “Keep him safe, won’t you?”

Hanzo stared at her, his mouth slightly agape. _Does she have a better understanding of what’s going on than I do? Because this is completely new and confusing and I have no idea what’s going on._ Understanding bloomed across Nel and Ally’s faces – and while they were still somber, they seemed to accept that things were okay.

“…huh…he’s even carrying himself like Jesse right now.” Nel half-laughed and shook her head. “Keep him out of trouble.”

_I am?_ Hanzo hadn’t even noticed if he was. He couldn’t think of a _reason_ that he would be carrying himself that way either. _And who am I keeping out of trouble?_ He felt so disoriented, almost like he was drunk.

“Nothing will keep Jesse McCree out of trouble.” Ally snorted and rolled her eyes. The flippant response barely hid the sorrow that was pinching her features. Her sadness was understood and justified – they had lost nearly their whole squad. “You alright, Hanzo?”

_I honestly don’t know if I’m okay. I think I’m hearing Jesse’s voice in my mind, it feels like my heart is pounding even though my heart hasn’t beaten in years, and I feel **drunk**._ Hanzo braced himself against the wall and shook away the weird, hazy feeling that was lingering in his mind. “Yeah…I’m fine. Just…confused?”

A low, rumbling chuckle echoed through his mind. “ _What’s confusing about it, love? Ain’t you ever heard of a familiar before?_ ”

Hanzo felt his face twist in confusion – a familiar. He vaguely remembered his father going on about vampires and familiars at one point. It was what happened when one completely drained someone. They became the vampire’s familiar. But the explanation had been vague at best and he’d been too prideful at that age to ask questions about things he didn’t quite understand.

“ _Have ‘em call Gabe and report on what happened._ ” Jesse sounded a bit more on the morose side for that.

“Hanzo?” Quentin’s brows were furrowed and her face concerned. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

He blinked a few times and nodded. Hanzo was only just realizing that the ladies were hurt and needed medical attention. Not bad injuries, nothing life threatening, but a doctor should still look over them. “Yes, I’m alright.” He straightened out his posture. “He wants you to call Reyes and report what happened. I will wait with you until backup arrives.”

There was a bit of debate on who should be the one to call Gabe – it wound up falling to Quentin. She delivered the news gently, but without pulling any punches. Hanzo flinched hard when he heard Gabe’s reaction to the news of Jesse’s death – the anguish and fury. He’d blanked out after that.

True to his word, he waited until backup arrived – and even then, he lingered longer than he should and helped them clean things up. Helped them move the dead. Perhaps it was because he felt responsible for their deaths, perhaps it was because _Jesse_ wanted to help put his men to rest. Hanzo couldn’t be sure either way.

He said his goodbyes, the ladies all saluting him as he left – rather, they were saluting _Jesse_. Hanzo turned from them and started out into the night. _Maybe I’ll reevaluate my opinion of organizations like Blackwatch…maybe they aren't that bad after all..._

 

* * *

 

 

Hanzo sighed and rubbed at his face. He hadn’t even managed to make his way out of the building before he was stopped by none other than Gabriel Reyes. Hanzo had wanted to avoid running into Gabe at all costs, he hadn’t wanted to see the look on his face, the sorrow at losing Jesse. At losing multiple valuable agents.

But apparently his luck tanking again.

“Hey Shimada. Got a few things to talk about before you turn into bats or whatever vampires do to travel.” Gabe’s voice was gruff, an attempt to disguise the heavy sadness in his voice. “The girls told me some interesting shit about what went down. That you used Deadeye.”

There was an accusation in those words and Hanzo looked away from Gabe. _I can’t look him in the eye after what I did…_

“ _Gonna remind you that I **asked** you to do that, Han._ ”

Somehow, Hanzo wasn’t entirely sure that was going to help his case. Yes, Jesse had been dying. But Hanzo had sped up that process. Hanzo had been the one to actually kill him. He thoroughly expected hatred to be thrown at him.

“Jesse and Ana are the only ones that can use that technique.” Gabe’s voice was blunt. “Don’t think you’ve been taking lessons from Ana…so…you gonna tell me what happened?”

Hanzo didn’t want to, he really didn’t want to. He didn’t want to admit what he’d done to Jesse. A strange feeling flooded his body followed by freezing cold. Hanzo shivered and held tight to his upper body to hide that fact. It almost felt like he was being pulled apart, but not at the same time.

“Holy shit.” Gabe’s voice was choked up, awed, and a bit nervous sounding. “They weren’t fucking with me.”

Hanzo’s eyes drifted to his right side. Jesse’s image was there, bleeding out from Hanzo’s body like some strange mirage. Except it wasn’t just his image, he was moving, smiling.

“Nope, they weren’t. I was dyin’ anyway, old man.” Jesse sighed as he brought his arms up into a shrug. “I asked him to do this. Figured it was the only way _any_ of us were gettin’ out of that shitstorm.”

Hanzo watched Gabe’s face shift through a series of emotions. Relief, fury, irritation, among others. “So you’re saying I can’t be mad at Shimada for _eating_ my adopted son.”

“That’s exactly what I’m sayin’. Chill out, you’re gonna get more wrinkles if you keep makin’ that face.” Jesse snickered before fading away back into Hanzo’s body.

The intense cold faded away immediately and Hanzo felt as though he could move again. He took a step back and swallowed dryly.

“Out of my sight for now. I’ve got thinking to do. I’ll give you the information on your brother after everyone gets some rest.” Gabe turned away and stormed off. “Don’t run off!” He shouted over his shoulder.

Hanzo leaned against the wall and slid down it into a sitting position. He was exhausted, utterly so. He sighed and tucked his face down against his knees. It figured that he’d have to wait even longer to get information about Genji…that’s how it always was for him.

“ _He just needs time to think through everything. He’s not pissy with you. He’s pissy with the situation._ ”

He wasn’t entirely sure he was ever going to get used to hearing Jesse’s voice _in his head_. Yet…while he wasn’t used to it, hearing Jesse like that didn’t feel unnatural. It was just something he wasn’t familiar with yet. Each time he spoke, Hanzo got a little more used to it, his body adjusted a little more.

“I know. He lost a lot of good men.” Hanzo whispered. He didn’t need to speak loudly, Jesse could hear him just fine. “I can’t blame him for being upset.”

“ _He doesn’t hate you either. He’s just decidin’ what he needs to do._ ”

Hanzo knew that as well. Maybe he was just feeling a bit sulky and responsible for what all had happened.

They fell into silence and Hanzo continued to sit outside under the moon’s light. The quiet was appreciated, it allowed him to unwind after a stressful and nearly deadly mission. But…he didn’t feel alone. Because he wasn’t alone, he supposed. Jesse was with him. A few thoughts bubbled up in his mind, like if he would ever have alone time or if Jesse would _always_ know what was going on, but he shoved those away.

“I do not understand why you would want to be stuck with me forever, Jesse.” Hanzo finally spoke, his voice soft and a little fragile. “I am not pleasant company.”

Laughter echoed in his mind again, warm and calming. “ _You’re plenty pleasant, sugar. I knew what I was gettin’ into when I asked you to do this. Wouldn’t have asked this of just anyone._ ”

His mind drifted back to that all-too-brief kiss they’d shared just before Hanzo had drunk down Jesse’s blood, to the warmth that had filled him. How he’d wanted _more_. His mind centered in on how Jesse had been calling him love, the gentle touches, all the kind things Jesse had done for him during his time with Blackwatch. Actions that Hanzo had dismissed as kindness and nothing more – actions that he’d _hoped_ meant more.

“ _I like you a whole lot, Hanzo._ ”

Hanzo bit his lower lip and smiled to himself at the admission from Jesse. _I should have figured that out…_ “I like you too.” All he could do was sit there with a silly grin on his face for a few moments. Hanzo wasn’t good at admitting his feelings, yet he’d opened up to Jesse without a thought.

“ _You do know Gabe’s gonna recruit you for Blackwatch, right? Bastard’s not gonna let go of me that easily._ ”

Hanzo groaned and hid himself more thoroughly behind his knees. “Can we not think of work right now?”

“ _Alright, alright. No work talk now. Though…that wasn’t a no, sugar._ ”

No, it wasn’t. Hanzo had enjoyed working with Blackwatch…they’d made a strong impression in the short amount of time he’d been with them. He liked the way they worked, their ideals, how accepting of him they were. And perhaps he didn’t want to deprive Blackwatch of Jesse McCree quite yet.

“That’s more work talk, cowboy.” Hanzo snapped, but the words were all bark, no bite. Even playful if you knew to where to listen. “Tell me about yourself…I want to know more.”

It was something he’d wanted to ask during the weeks they were training together for this mission, but Hanzo had chickened out each time. He’d made excuses time and time again. But he didn’t have an excuse now…and he really did want to know Jesse better.

“ _Alright love…though I doubt you’re gonna think highly of me once I’m done…_ ”

“I highly doubt that.” Hanzo’s voice was strangely earnest for that. He thought the world of Jesse.

He closed his eyes as Jesse started telling him his story. Where he grew up, all sorts of little details. Perhaps it was their connection, his imagination, or even just Jesse somehow showing him his memories, but he could see everything so vividly. He closed his eyes and started to drift off with a little smile on his face. Hanzo felt content and safe, _loved_ , to the point that he could even sleep outdoors after a major attack. He could rest easy with Jesse looking out for him. It was almost like there were arms wrapped around him, a promise that he wasn't alone...that he'd be protected. He mumbled some words, not aware that he said them,  _I love you_. Warmth and joy flooded his body in response, lulling him into a content sleep.


End file.
